''Eriothrix rufomaculatus'' is a species of

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

in the family

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this fami ...

Distribution

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, China,

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Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

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, Sweden,

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Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Switzerland,

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Habitat

These rather common flies mainly inhabit hedge rows, grasslands or sunny rough ground, meadows,

ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, et ...

areas and fields.Tachinid Recording Scheme
/ref>

Description

''Eriothrix rufomaculatus'' can reach a length of and a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

of 13–15 mm.J.K. Lindse
Commanster
/ref> This bristly species shows a greyish thorax with four narrow black stripes and a prominent but quite variable orange patches on the sides of its cylindrical

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

, separated by a dorsal black line. Its face is silvery, with a protruding mouth edge. The legs are black. Wings are slightly shaded, yellowish at the base. Vein-m is petiolate and costal spine is longer than vein r-m.

Biology

''Eriothrix rufomaculatus'' is a

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

species. Adults can be found from July to October. They are flower feeders, visiting in particular members of the

Umbelliferae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

(especially ''

Heracleum sphondylium ''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed, common hogweed or cow parsnip, is a herbaceous perennial or biennial plant, in the umbelliferous family Apiaceae that includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is nati ...

'') and

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

. The species is parasitic, the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e developing inside the subterranean larvae of moths, especially of crambid moths (''

Chrysoteuchia culmella ''Chrysoteuchia culmella'', the garden grass-veneer, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in Europe. The wingspan The wingspan ( ...

'',

Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

), tiger moths (''

Ammobiota festiva ''Arctia festiva'', the hebe tiger moth, is a moth species of the family Erebidae. Some authors have separated it in a monotypic genus ''Eucharia''. It is found in Central and Southern Europe, Near East, Iran, Central Asia, European Russia, South ...

'', Erebidae), lappet moths (''

Dendrolimus pini ''Dendrolimus pini'', the pine-tree lappet, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is o ...

'',

Lasiocampidae The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, tent caterpillars, snout moths (although this also refers to the Pyralidae), or lappet moths. Over 2,000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied. It i ...

) and ermine moths (

Yponomeutidae : ''Certain members of the unrelated snout moths (Pyralidae) are also known as "ermine moths." Spilosoma lubricipeda is an unrelated moth with the common name "white ermine."'' The family Yponomeutidae are known as the ermine moths, with severa ...

)).NBN Atlas
/ref>

References

External links

''Eriothrix rufomaculatus'' at the Essex Field Club

Gedling Conservation Trust
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3056660 Articles containing video clips Tachinidae Diptera of Asia Diptera of Europe Taxa named by Charles De Geer Insects described in 1776